MOSCOW, September 26. /ITAR-TASS/. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the member-countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), during a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, reaffirmed their interest in giving greater scope to partnership with Russia. A Russian Foreign Ministry official said on Friday that this was the first ministerial meeting of this kind. It was held on the sidelines of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The meeting was attended on the SADC side by representatives of Zimbabwe (the SADC presiding country), Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, the Republic of South Africa, as well as SADC Executive Secretary.

Russia's Foreign Ministry official said, "In a friendly atmosphere, characteristic of Russia-Africa relations, those present at the meeting considered promising areas of versatile cooperation between Russia and SADC, including an intensification of the political dialogue, in the format of regular multilateral consultations as well.

"The sides reaffirmed mutual interest in working out a joint plan for refinement of partnership between Russia and SADC, specifically in broadening Russia's assistance to SADC in strengthening its peacemaking potential and in implementing the Industrial Development Program, including the establishment of a common transport and energy space in the subregion".

"The participants in the meeting exchanged views on topical problems that are on the international and regional agendas, with emphasis on a settlement of conflicts in Africa and solution of tasks regarding the socio-economic development of the continent," Russia's Foreign Ministry official pointed out.